Good Doug Smith Kia, American Fork UT

[Waxes Eloquent]

I can't say enough positive about my experience buying through Doug Smith Kia. Their sticker price matched Kia's website with no additional markup. They then added in other incentives and even offered a very fair price on my trade-in and I ended up getting a much better deal than I'd hoped. The salesman, Josh, spent an unhurried day with me, enthusiastically test driving several different Stingers until we found the best match at their store. Overall, A+, would recommend enthusiastically.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Cool! Another Utah Stinger. That makes five on this forum that I know of. Three, including yourself, I just found about today. Check out the Utah Stingers thread: Utah Stingers

Interestingly, I give Doug Smith high marks too; because I got my Stinger from them, but not through them. Jerry Seiner didn't have a Silky Silver GT1, so they quickly phoned around. Doug Smith traded theirs for a car that JS had (don't know what kind). My salesman drove the JS car to Orem and came back with my Stinger, and I drove away. Slick as can be.

Tell us a little bit about your car.

 

[Waxes Eloquent]

It's a GT AWD in Panthera black. Although I wasn't a fan of the "sport sedan" look, I am a huge fan of how this car feels, not only to drive but to sit in and savor. I'm 6'5" and 280, so finding a comfortable car is very rare for me. This car is a treat.

I'm looking forward to modifying it as my budget allows to see if I can get it close to the advertised 4.7 0-60. Right now it averages 5.7, which I hear is normal for the AWD model. (Using launch control, and yes I'm using it correctly.)

It's pleasantly odd to own a car I feel more excited about the longer I drive it.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I don't think that a whole second slower than 4.7 is "normal" for the AWD 3.3L. If I get up to 80 MPH in two hundred yards, how does the math work out? That's the closest I've come to "clocking" my car's acceleration.

 

[Waxes Eloquent]

Not sure about the math, it's never been my strong suit.

Don't get me wrong, it's quick when I'm already on the road. Just not from a full stop.

When you use launch control, how high do your RPM's go before you take your foot off the brake? Mine top off at 2100 or so.

 

[MerlintheMad]

@Waxes Eloquent That's about it. And you only get c. 3 seconds to get the RPMs up to c. 2100 and hold it; then the LC shuts down. From what others have said, the Stinger's LC is more of a gimmick compared to "real launch controls" in true sports cars, which will allow the RPMs to build up to near red line. I'm still thinking that holding the car with auto hold, bracing your left foot on the foot rest and mashing the accelerator efficiently is the quickest way to "launch" this car. (Math is not my strong suit either, which is why I asked.)

 

[Waxes Eloquent]

Hmm. I'll have to try the "mash the accelerator method".

And thanks for the suggestions. It would be great to meet and compare notes. Is there a track we could use?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Funny you ask. I posted a few pics of yesterday's brief moment of fun on Jerry Seiner's "test strip". Utah Stingers I have zero track time of any description. But I can see that changing in the not too distant future. I received my third warning Saturday evening, coming down Big Cottonwood canyon, with my younger brother in the passenger seat (each of my three warnings has been when I had a passenger, heh!). I passed an SUV (the yellow line was broken, so not an illegal pass at least). The SUV was a cop. He pulled me over (I pulled over with alacrity). And he said, "You do not pass a cop." He was very pleasant about it. He said that passing above the speed limit is still breaking the speed limit: I had told him I was going the speed limit except to pass. "The speed limit is, nevertheless, forty-five. You never pass a cop," he said a second time. Whew! I've got to limit myself better!

Larry H. Miller's track in Tooele has something called "Wide Open Wednesdays" Utah Driving Event on the Racetrack or Autocross Course at UMC The next one is August 1st. Maybe ...

 

[Waxes Eloquent]

Speaking back to a cop? Brave man . . .

 

[stingeradmr]

I bought my Stinger from Josh also

 

[Waxes Eloquent]

He's an enthusiastic fella.

 

[stingeradmr]

I used to work in Springville, CR DOORS

 

[mldavis2]

@Waxes Eloquent That's about it. And you only get c. 3 seconds to get the RPMs up to c. 2100 and hold it; then the LC shuts down. From what others have said, the Stinger's LC is more of a gimmick compared to "real launch controls" in true sports cars, which will allow the RPMs to build up to near red line. I'm still thinking that holding the car with auto hold, bracing your left foot on the foot rest and mashing the accelerator efficiently is the quickest way to "launch" this car. (Math is not my strong suit either, which is why I asked.)

The reason RPM is limited is two-fold. First, the 3.3T generates almost its full torque load at that RPM so higher RPMs only put a higher shock load on the transmission and heat up the torque converter unnecessarily. Second, if you are near the max RPM limit when you dump the power, you are already running out of the power band on the top end. You want to drive through the torque, not drive out of it. You also want to hook up and go, not just smoke the tires.

 

[MerlintheMad]

The reason RPM is limited is two-fold. First, the 3.3T generates almost its full torque load at that RPM so higher RPMs only put a higher shock load on the transmission and heat up the torque converter unnecessarily. Second, if you are near the max RPM limit when you dump the power, you are already running out of the power band on the top end. You want to drive through the torque, not drive out of it. You also want to hook up and go, not just smoke the tires.

I gather that you are not of the opinion that the Stinger's LC is a "gimmick"? I noticed that it accelerated better when I shifted before 5K RPM, closer to 4K RPM. Are you saying that if I shift each time on the way to 3K RPM that I will get the quickest acceleration? (this is all new territory for this boy)

 

[BlaydeX15]

I can't say enough positive about my experience buying through Doug Smith Kia. Their sticker price matched Kia's website with no additional markup. They then added in other incentives and even offered a very fair price on my trade-in and I ended up getting a much better deal than I'd hoped. The salesman, Josh, spent an unhurried day with me, enthusiastically test driving several different Stingers until we found the best match at their store. Overall, A+, would recommend enthusiastically.

Hey, how did I not notice this before? I bought mine at Doug Smith as well, from Lynn. Really good experience, guy was nice, no hard sales tactics, though I could tell I knew more about the car than he did, and we skipped the post purchase 'Here's how it all works'. Lol. (Don't blame him though, I researched one car very specifically for a long time, he has half the time to learn 20!)

Got a pretty good deal too, 2k off MSRP before lease incentives, though I did take the RWD GT that they had sitting on the lot for 6 months. People are scared of RWD out here or something.

Did you talk to any other dealers? I feel like Young Kia (Layton) was dishonest about pricing with me, and want to see if anyone else has experienced that as well.

Also, you lose a lot power at this elevation. Never timed mine, but I know there are calculators for the loss in time due to elevation for 1/4 miles. Looks to be about 7% or so at 5k feet, and that would translate to your 0-60. I think a 4.7 RWD time translates to a 5.1 up here, and the AWD is usually accepted to be .2 slower stock, so you'd be hoping to approach a 5.3.

 

[BlaydeX15]

I gather that you are not of the opinion that the Stinger's LC is a "gimmick"? I noticed that it accelerated better when I shifted before 5K RPM, closer to 4K RPM. Are you saying that if I shift each time on the way to 3K RPM that I will get the quickest acceleration? (this is all new territory for this boy)

Nah. Ideally, you drop it into first at peak torque, and accelerate at peak horsepower. The logic behind that is due to the gear ratios and stuff. You're better off at peak horsepower in a lower gear than peak torque in a higher gear. Cars usually make peak horsepower near redline, and the stinger is no different, peaking at 5500-6000 RPM.

 

[mldavis2]

I was speaking of torque, not horsepower. A good example of the difference is to compare the LC500 with the Stinger. The LC500 has a 471HP V8 with 398 lb/ft. torque compared to 365HP V6 with 376 lb./ft torque. 0-60 times are within 0.1 sec. according to C&D and Edmunds. Torque is a measure of force, not work. Horsepower is usually measured at high RPM until torque drops off.